The Staggering Amount of Stuff We Own
The amount of stuff that we own these days is staggering. The typical American house now contains 2,500 square feet instead of 1,000. The annual revenue generated by personal storage exceeds $24 billion. Some reports indicate that we consume twice as many material goods today as we did 50 years ago, and all while carrying $6,000 in credit card debt for the average American family.
These figures ought to prompt us to pose some challenging queries. For example, why do we buy more stuff than we need? I mean, this is an interesting question when you really think about it. How come we purchase more than we require? What thinking would compel somebody to spend money on things that they don’t actually need in the first place?
The Importance of Answering the Question
It seems to me that if we could successfully answer this question, we could more easily free our lives and our resources for more important pursuits. But this question is hard, and it forces us to admit weaknesses in our lives. When we minimized our possessions 12 years ago, we removed 60-70% of our stuff and I began personally wrestling with this question.
Why did I buy more stuff than I need and I didn’t always like what I found? Consider some of these lies that we have believed as a society.
The False Security of Possessions
First, we believe they will provide us with security. Our reasoning goes like this: if having some tangible belongings, such as a home, clothes, and a car, gives us security, then accumulating excess stuff will undoubtedly provide us with even greater security. However, the real security that comes from material goods is far less consistent than we think once our most basic requirements are met. All of them fade, deteriorate, or perish, and they might vanish more quickly than we think.
The Fleeting Happiness of Material Goods
Number two, we think more things will make us happy. Look, no one would ever acknowledge that they look to material items for happiness. We all just live like we do. We buy bigger houses and faster cars, cooler technology and trendier fashion, hoping we will become happier because of it. Unfortunately, the actual happiness derived from excess physical possessions is fleeting at best.
The Power of Advertising
Number three, we are more susceptible to advertising than we think. On average, we see 5,000 ads every single day and every advertisement carries the same message that your life will be better if you buy what they’re selling.
We begin to hear this message so many times from so many angles that we very subtly begin to believe it. Now, this is not a complete condemnation of the marketing industry. This is simply a call to realize that their messaging affects us more than we admit.
Buying to Impress Others
Number four, we buy things hoping to impress other people. In a wealthy society, envy quickly becomes a driving force for economic activity because once all of our basic needs have been met, consumption must become about something more than needs. And so it becomes an opportunity to display our wealth, our importance, or our financial success to the world.
The Jealousy of Others’ Possessions
Number five, we are jealous of people who own more. Comparison seems to be a natural state of our humanity. We notice what other people are buying, wearing, and driving. And our society encourages these comparisons. And all too often we buy stuff we don’t need just because people in our friendship circles have already done the same. True achievement is inevitably distorted in a culture that is obsessed with celebrating excess.
Compensating for Personal Deficiencies
Sixth, we are attempting to make up for our shortcomings. We make the mistake of looking for confidence in the things we drive or the clothes we wear. By buying needless things, we try to get over loss, loneliness, or heartbreak.
We look to worldly possessions for fulfilment and attempt to impress others more with them than with who we are. However, these endeavor’s will never completely fill our gaps. They merely prevent us from even addressing them most of the time.
The Reality of Selfishness
Number seven, we are more selfish than we like to admit. It can be difficult to admit that the human spirit is hardwired towards selfishness and greed, but history appears to make a strong case for us. We accumulate more and more items in an attempt to expand the boundaries of our own little kingdom. Throughout history, force, compulsion, dishonesty, and violence have all been used to achieve this. Sadly, selfishness still exists in our society and in our personal lives today.
The Joy of Owning Less
Excess material possessions do not enrich our lives. In fact, buying things we don’t need keeps us from experiencing some wonderful, life-giving benefits of owning less. We would be wise to realize the cause and become vigilant in overcoming it. Because there is more joy to be found in owning less than can ever be discovered in pursuing more.
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